Carcass of elephant calf found near Munnar

IDUKKI:

Carcass

of a two-year-old

elephant

was found at a eucalyptus plantation near the tribal settlement colony at Kundala Sandoz in

Munnar

on Sunday morning.

The postmortem was conducted by Periyar Tiger Reserve assistant forest veterinary officer Dr Abdul Fathah in the presence of Munnar assistant field conservator Harichandaran and Devikulam range officer Nibu Kiran on Sunday.

“Herpes simplex, a virus infection that affects the immune system, might have resulted in the animal’s death. We will send internal organs of the

calf

to Palod chief investigation office for further analysis. The carcass was burnt later,” said a forest department official.

Last Monday, an elephant calf was also found dead at the eucalyptus plantation. Seven wild elephant deaths were reported in and around Munnar for the past four months. Of this, three wild elephants were found to be murdered.

Elephant attacks on humans are also being frequently reported in Munnar and

Marayoor

forest divisions. On Friday, a hotel worker was trampled to death by a wild elephant at Suryanelli.

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